by Liz Schulte
When I was strong enough, I transported to Jaron. Shocked doused his face and he stood. “I thought you were dead.”
“I’ll do it. I’ll become a changeling.”
A slow smile spread over his face. “You see that I was right all along, don’t you? Your peaceful solutions will never work, not with people like that.”
I nodded. “I do.”
“You’ll kill the king and his son? No deviations, Selene.”
I swallowed. “Yes.”
“If you fail again or get in my way…” He didn’t have to finish the threat. I knew what he would do.
“I won’t fail.”
“We’ll perform the ceremony tomorrow.”
I walked through the rain one last time, the cold drops pelting against my skin. I wasn’t going to hurt Cheney. Despite everything Jaron had drilled into me, he wasn’t my enemy. I fought against the darkness inside of me and didn’t allow myself to forget the good. If I were being honest, I loved him. My time imprisoned taught me one thing. When I was alone and aching and hurt, I didn’t think about Jaron coming to rescue me. It was always Cheney on my mind. I would sooner die than hurt him and there was only one way to make sure that happened. I banged my fist against Cheney’s door. He opened it, wearing worn jeans and nothing else. He leaned his forearm against the frame and gave me a crooked smile.
“I knew you’d come back.”
“I’ll do the bond, but only under one condition.”
He stood back, letting me inside, softly shutting the door behind me. “You have conditions?”
I faced him full on, water dripping from my hair onto his floor. “Make me into a changeling.”
He shook his head. “What? Why?”
I concocted a story he would believe about the rebels needing me to do it for power. It was true in a way. I told Cheney what I needed to, produced tears in all the right places, until he bent to my will. He tried to talk me out of it, describing how I would have to be sacrificed on an altar and the magic required, but I was unmoved. He said he didn’t have the power to do what I was asking, but I knew if he put his mind to it, we would find a way.
“It has to be tonight or I am going to run, and this time, I’m not coming back.”
Cheney agreed. I was a wedding and an execution away from the beginning of the end.
Killing the Erlking and Jaron was the only thing that mattered. It would fix everything that was wrong. And if all went well, Cheney would never need to know.
“Wake up, Selene. Wake up.” Cheney’s persistent voice kept after me.
“It’s not working,” Sy said.
“You think I don’t know that?” Cheney snapped. “Selene, love, open your eyes.”
I peeled back one eyelid to look at him so he’d stop shaking me so hard my brain rattled. He crushed me into a hug. “I thought you were dying. Are you okay?”
My mouth was dry and pasty. “It was just a memory, don’t flip out. Happens all the time.” I fell limp against him. At least I wasn’t bleeding.
“It wasn’t ‘just’ a memory. You had a seizure and nearly scared the crap out of the Erlking,” Sy said, and I could hear the smile in his voice, but hearing “Erlking” made me remember.
“I remember what happened. I remember why I became a changeling.”
“I really don’t care,” Cheney said into my shoulder.
I started to tell Cheney everything, but I stopped. I needed to think about it. I needed to talk to someone who knew a lot more than he let on. “I want to see Sebastian.”
“Why? Does he have something to do with this?” Cheney asked.
“Maybe. I need to see him. Alone.” An annoyed, stubborn look I knew too well started to form on Cheney’s face. “Trust me. I will tell you everything.”
“If I get a vote—and I think I should as her only family present—I say no,” Sy said. “You don’t want her to have another memory in the dungeon with no one there to help.”
“Sy has a point.”
I forced my legs to move and stood up, though my muscles screamed in protest. “I guess I should have said, ‘I’m going to see Sebastian alone.’” I walked a couple steps before a wave of dizziness hit me and I stumbled. Cheney caught me, moving me to a chair.
“I don’t trust you. Why? Why do you need to see Sebastian?” he asked, standing over me.
I didn’t want to tell Cheney that Sebastian had been working with me, though I was pretty certain that was the case. I wanted to talk to him and have him fill in some gaps. Then we could decide how to let Cheney know the depth of our deceit. “I think I told him more back then than he has let on. I want to confirm a few things I suspect but don’t know yet.”
“And what does this have to do with the curse? With Devin?”
I frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing. Maybe something. I need to talk to him—and I think he’ll be more forthcoming with just me.”
His breath huffed out. “Selene.”
“Cheney.” I gave him my own stubborn glare.
He rolled his eyes. “Do you think he had anything to do with Michael or Devin?”
I thought about it. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Cheney looked back at Sy who shrugged. “Let me have him brought up to you. I don’t want any memories sparked by going down there.”
“It’s okay. I’ve already remembered that.”
All firmness melted from his eyes and he knelt in front of me, cradling my face. “I hoped if there was anything you wouldn’t remember, it would be that.”
“It’s okay. You saved me.” I ran my thumb over his bottom lip.
“What am I missing? When was Selene in the dungeon?” Sy asked.
I stood up and patted sweet Sy on the shoulder. “I’m going now. I feel stronger. Cheney will fill you in.” I eased my wobbly legs forward.
“If you aren’t back in ten minutes, we’re coming to get you.”
I nodded. It was time for Sebastian to come clean. I headed for the dungeon, but I was intercepted by Katrina, Leslie, and Jessica.
“Where have you been?” Jessica demanded. “Have you found Devin?”
“I have been trying to find her. I’m sorry I haven’t come to update you guys.”
Leslie shook her head, eyes glistening. “Don’t worry about us. Find her. If you need our help, you know where we are.”
I nodded. “Where are your guards?”
“We ditched them.”
“They’re here to protect you. Don’t ditch them.”
Jessica threw up her arms. “We can help you. We have powers of our own.” She glared at me, and I suddenly understood what Cheney must’ve felt like half the time we were arguing. I was treating them like … humans, protecting them for their own good. I hadn’t thought about their gifts. Leslie’s empathy abilities didn’t work with fae, so she couldn’t help, but Jessica possibly could. She had a knack for knowing when people were lying. Where I was telekinetic, she was telepathic, and as far as I knew fae weren’t immune to it.
“You know, you’re right. I think you can help me, Jess.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Great, how?”
“Come with me. You two go back to your guards—please.”
Katrina looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Talk to Sebastian, Selene. It has to be a mistake,” she said. “He wouldn’t hurt Devin or do that to Michael.”
Damn it. I had abandoned her right after she saw a dead body. I didn’t even think twice about it. I was a terrible friend. I nodded and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry you saw that. I really have to go though. I promise we’ll talk soon.”
I caught Jessica up as much as I could as we went down the winding stairs. “Basically, I need you to be my lie detector.”
“I can do that.” She pushed her red hair behind her ears.
“Don’t say anything or ask any questions. I’ll answer everything later. We’ll only have a couple minutes before Cheney comes down to find me.”
The guard at the
door led us through to a dim room with a thick wooden table. Moments later Sebastian was brought out. He looked like he always did, as if being confined hadn’t affected him at all. His experience was obviously not as traumatic as mine was.
“I hoped it’d be you to come to see me,” he said as he sat down. “Jessica, it is nice to see you again.”
“Yeah, whatever. Give me your hand,” she said briskly.
Sebastian laid his arm in front of her without complaint.
“So you’re a rebel. Who would have thought?” I said.
“No one. That’s why it was brilliant.” He smiled a little. “You have finally remembered me?”
I shook my head. “I’ve had one memory of you. You’re the one who told Cheney where I was when I was the king’s prisoner?”
He nodded.
“You tried to help me that day. What else did you do? How else did you help me?”
“I fed you information that gave the rebels the early wins they needed to gain momentum and keep people from getting hurt.”
“Why?”
He thought for a moment. “You know, I have wondered that myself several times over the years. You’re the one who recruited me, but I don’t think it really had anything to do with you. I believe in your cause. I never liked Jaron much, but I understood what you were working toward and respected that. Everyone deserves a place, and the half-elves have been overlooked for too long.” Sebastian’s posture was relaxed and his face open. “That day you were captured, you said Jaron couldn’t be trusted. What did he do?”
“My questions first. Why can’t I remember you in the memories Jaron has given me?”
“Jaron is giving you memories?”
“He said I gave them to him before I became a changeling, but I know it couldn’t have been before.”
“You wouldn’t have given your memories to him. That much I can tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you wouldn’t have wanted him to know what you were feeling. You were conflicted, Selene. You’re not so different now than you were then. Your feelings for Cheney had grown, matured. They were starting to crack whatever hold Jaron had on you. That’s why you left the first time. You couldn’t hurt Cheney by killing the Erlking, as was your plan when you first set sight on him. You decided that you would take Jaron up on the offer he always dangled in front of you. For all your talk of equality, you never really wanted to be part of the elves. You couldn’t reconcile yourself to the fact that you loved the person you saw as your enemy. So you ran.” He shrugged. “You and Jaron were supposed to leave and live a life away from the fae. I honestly thought you could be happy if you gave up your resentment—that maybe everything would return to normal.”
“What happened?”
“I have no idea. All I know is you came back and told me Jaron couldn’t be trusted. Then you were taken and it took Cheney and me over a month to get to you. When you came out, it was—”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Then, by the time you were well enough to explain anything, you decided to become a changeling. The last thing you said to me was, ‘Take care of Cheney. He’s the future.’”
I nodded and looked at Jessica.
“He’s telling the truth,” she said.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“You didn’t remember, and I couldn’t be sure you were ever going to be the Selene I knew back then again. There was no need to stir up the past if you could slip into place alongside Cheney. I always thought the two of you could make a bigger difference together than apart. He listens to you, and though you don’t want to, you listen to him. You always have.”
I took a deep breath. “Are you working for the Erlking?”
“Yes.”
I bit my lip, not sure what to say.
“But I am not working for his father,” Sebastian said gently.
I smiled. I still had trouble thinking of Cheney as the Erlking. “Do you know where Devin is or who killed Michael?”
“No.” He gave me a hard stare. “I would never harm your friends.”
“What do you know about curses?”
“Nothing.”
I looked to Jessica and she nodded. “Why did the spell lead me to you?”
“I honestly have no idea. I can’t explain it.”
I leaned closer. “I became a changeling to save Cheney. Jaron won’t stop until he is dead.”
“He wants Cheney dead too? Why?”
“I wish I knew.” I glanced back at the door, knowing Cheney would be there any moment. “I think we need to tell him everything.”
Sebastian set his jaw. “He will most likely execute me,” he shook his head, “but I think you are right.”
“He hasn’t killed me yet, so maybe you have a chance.”
Sebastian didn’t look convinced. “I’m not you.”
I didn’t want to keep anymore secrets. We would just have to make Cheney understand. “We have to tell him.”
“Tell me what?” I turned around. Cheney was standing in the doorway.
It was now or never. I ignored the butterflies and let my mind scramble for a plan. “Sebastian didn’t kill Michael.”
“You are certain?” he asked.
I nodded. “I brought my lie detector with me.” Jessica waved at him.
A smile broke across his serious face, and he gave Sebastian a manly hug—the kind with one arm and two hard pats on the back. “I’m glad to have you back, my friend. I was sure you were innocent, but I didn’t know how to prove it.”
“I figured. Otherwise you would have questioned me.”
“And that’s what you wanted to tell me?” Cheney said, looking back at me with relief.
“No. But I think we should move out of here to talk about it,” I said, buying time. Cheney already knew most of the bad things about me, so I wasn’t too worried about that. My intention at the time to kill his father, while terrible, was probably understandable—especially since I didn’t do it. Sebastian’s involvement though . . . Well, that was another story.
Cheney looked at each of us in turn. “Where’s your guard?” he asked Jessica.
She smiled a little. “He must’ve fallen behind.”
Cheney sighed and gave me a look that said I should take care of this. I shrugged. “They don’t want to be locked in a room and guarded. They have just as much of a right to be involved as we do. They’re grown women and they’ve proven themselves capable. I think it should be their choice.”
He nodded. “Very well. I will send for the others. Sebastian, if you would like to clean up, we can meet in my office in an hour.”
Sebastian gave a solemn nod, his eyes never leaving me. I tried to give him a reassuring smile before he left.
“Hold up, Sebastian. I’ll go with you to get the girls,” Jessica said, catching up with him.
Cheney slipped his arm around my waist and I rested my head on his shoulder. “You going to give me a clue about what we are going to talk about?”
“Everything.” I looked around the room, wondering if I’d been there before. “Promise me you’ll keep your temper.”
He pulled his arm away. “More revelations? Fantastic.”
“Well, how about I start with the good news?”
He raised an eyebrow. “There’s good news? Why do I find that hard to believe?”
I stepped toward him. “My memories from Jaron . . .”
He nodded at me to continue when I paused.
“They don’t appear to be all that accurate.”
“Which parts?”
“Maybe all—but definitely the parts about us.” I rubbed his chest. “Sebastian said I cared about you. I was conflicted and scared, but the feelings were there.”
He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Hmm.”
Not exactly the response I expected, though I understood his hesitation. “It’s better than never having liked you, right?”
“Indeed.” He brushed a strand of h
air from my face. “Are you moving back to the castle now?”
“Do you want me to?”
He nodded. “More than I should.”
I kissed him softly. “You know, we just might make it through this.” I smiled.
He winked. “One thing at a time.”
We walked the stairs hand in hand. I felt better than I had in weeks. I couldn’t say why exactly. Maybe knowing that the bond was my decision helped me keep my mind from constantly struggling against it. Or maybe it was the fact that everything was about to be out in the open. Whatever it was, I felt hopeful for the first time in a long time.
Cheney sat still—too still—tapping a finger to his lips. Sebastian stood by the window, silently awaiting the verdict. The girls studied their hands like they wished I hadn’t involved them in this awkwardness, but I needed to be upfront with everyone. We didn’t have any more time to waste.
“I know how this all sounds, but I also know that you’re not blind to the way your father ruled the kingdom.” Cheney’s eyes moved to me. “I didn’t have to tell you this, but I’m tired of the secrets and not knowing who’s working with me or against me. We don’t have time to play games. Lives are on the line: Devin’s, mine—even yours if I die. Was I wrong to tell you?”
“No,” he said stiffly. “Just give me a moment to process.”
Sebastian shifted but still didn’t speak.
“And this is everything? Nothing else is going to pop up?”
I grimaced. “This is all I know right now. I can’t swear I’m not going to learn something else. I still can’t remember what happened with Jaron exactly or how I lost my memory.”
“Sebastian?”
“She told you everything. My involvement began and ended with Selene.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me about it sooner?”
“Would you have listened?”
More finger drumming. Cheney abruptly placed his hands on his lap. “Okay, fine. Selene’s right. We don’t have time to waste. Now where do we go from here?”
“We need to find who cursed me and who has Devin,” I said.
“Isn’t it the same person?” Katrina said.
“Yeah, Occam’s Razor,” Leslie said.
